27 Jan Why Go Outside? Benefits of Wilderness Experiences for People with PTSD

“…Using nature as a metaphor, it is possible very quickly to access deeply traumatic events and to work on the most difficult feelings, and the life cycle embodied in nature carries the promise of healing.” – Linden & Grut, 2002

Mountain biking through the Colorado wilderness – cycling through aspen and pine, wildflowers, and the broad sky over rocky crags and sloping valleys – a sense of peace is close at hand. Working your body, focusing on the path ahead, and taking in the sights and sounds of nature, it’s easy to feel your own health, and the health of the amazing natural world that you’re a part of.

Nature moves in cycles. Trees lose their leaves and grow new ones; flowers bloom and wither; sunlight fades and returns again. All of this is happening all the time, and although lives end and losses happen in nature, all of it occurs within a context of health, wholeness, and aliveness.

Connecting with nature is innately healing. Not just on the level of your mind and your memories of trauma – on all the levels of your whole being.

This article will look at some of the benefits of wilderness experiences for people living with PTSD, including survivors of sexual trauma.

How can nature help us heal?

Overcoming Challenges, Empowering your Body

Survivors of any kind of trauma often experience numbness and dissociation from their bodies. Especially for survivors of sexual trauma, the body is the site of a painful transgression. Traumatic assaults create feelings of helplessness in the body, of having no control.

Doing physical activities, overcoming physical challenges, and learning new skills can help draw awareness back to the body, and create new associations there. While mountain biking or doing other outdoor activities, many survivors begin to feel a greater sense of groundedness, integration, control, competence, and power in relation to their bodies.

Mitten and Dutton (1993, p. 12) write,

“Working in harmony with nature and seeing others do so as well can help a survivor gain positive memories through her body, which was often experienced as a place of pain because of the abuse, and to recover a feeling of power and pride in herself and in her body”

Finding Safety in Nature

Trauma happens when we experience something unbearable. We don’t know how to process that experience, and it gets stored in our bodies and nervous systems, until we feel safe, secure, and relaxed enough to touch those feelings. Then, to process and free ourselves from the traumatic imprint, we learn to gently hold the once unbearable feelings in a greater context of safety and care.

For many people with PTSD, nature provides the ultimate “greater context of safety and care.” Nature is totally non-judgmental; it’s innately healthy and harmonious; and it reminds us of the strength, beauty, and persistence of life. Because of this, nature is often a perfect environment for exploring sensitive issues related to past traumas.

Likewise, playing outside and bonding with others in nature is fun. It’s an opportunity to re-connect with play, excitement, and joy.

Remembering Spiritual Connectedness

Biking or doing anything in nature, there’s little to focus on but your body, the land, and the people you’re with. Being free of the distractions of daily life, it’s easier to enter a state of mindfulness and calmness.A time-out from everyday stressors gives us the opportunity to relax and reflect.

Nature reminds us of the natural cycles of life, and the sense of wholeness, health, and vastness that exists beyond our everyday lives. This can help put difficult experiences into perspective, and help us reconnect with something greater than ourselves – an immense web of life or Higher Power large enough to hold even our most joyful, and painful, experiences.

Creating Community

Enjoying nature with others, facing challenges, having fun, and learning new skills together creates special bonds and communities that go beyond clinical settings.

Having trusted friends and community traveling alongside you on the path of recovery is an endless blessing.

For so many people – including survivors – getting outside creates opportunities to shift old patterns, feel empowered, have fun, connect with intrinsic health, and build community.

By Myriam Maida, MA

Myriam Maida is a psychotherapist, painter and writer living in Boulder, CO. She is a student of creativity, healing, living fully, and promoting peace in this time of global transition. She holds a Master’s degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University.

Linden, S. & Grut, J. (2002). The healing fields; Working with psychotherapy and nature to rebuild shattered lives. Published in Association with the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. London: Frances Lincoln.

Julie has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for nearly 15 years. After a brief stint in Minneapolis where she obtained a degree in accounting, she high-tailed it back to Valley without a second thought and has been happily spending her free time rock climbing and mountain biking ever since. Julie strongly supports the community and the mission of Sacred Cycle with a deep desire to help people heal using unique opportunities that mentally and physically challenging sports provide.

Mavis Fitzerald

Originally from New Hampshire, Mavis headed to Boulder for school and has called Colorado her home for over 20 years. Mavis brings over a decade of ski, bike & outdoor industry marketing and communication experience. She supports the Sacred Cycle mission with empathy and deep understanding of trauma and mental illness. An avid cyclist when it’s not ski season, she is excited to spread the word throughout active outdoor communities.

Breton McNamara

Breton McNamara has worked in the addiction treatment field in the Western Slope for about three years, working as a Residential Technician at a treatment center and as an Aftercare Coordinator for a non-profit that provides scholarships to motivated addicts and alcoholics seeking treatment. He is returning to college at the University of Colorado Boulder to study Psychology. As a survivor of childhood trauma, Breton has a passion for helping others who have experienced similar events and hardships, and is very grateful to be involved with Sacred Cycle.

Just beginning to mountain bike a little over two years ago, Breton has found a deep passion for racing, training, and going on fun rides with friends and family. Breton has competed in the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race the last two years, as well as many other races throughout Colorado, and plans to continue to compete in more challenging events in the upcoming seasons. Mountain biking is a huge part of Breton’s self-care, helping to keep him physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy.

Jeannine Anders

Jeannine has worked in high-end retail with Betteridge Jewelers in Vail, CO for 10 years. Over this time she has held roles in sales as well as office operations management. Jeannine has been passionately racing bikes for 7 years and has found success in the ultra-distance MTB world. She has competed in 15 ultra-endurance MTB races, ranging from 12 to 25 hours, as well as multiple 40+ mile races. Jeannine strongly supports the Sacred Cycle mission and is excited to spread the word throughout the mountain biking community. Cycling has been an extremely positive influence in her life so she is anxious to share her passion with others.

Lauren Gueriera

Lauren Gueriera has been an RN for over 25 years, later becoming a nurse practitioner, and has regularly cared for patients who have been sexually traumatized at some point in their past. For 12 years she worked as the coordinator of two Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs in Westminster and Glenwood Springs. During this time she passionately volunteered her time and expertise to help found the River Bridge Regional Center, an advocacy center for child victims of abuse and neglect serving several counties in western Colorado. Lauren says, “Mountain biking is my favorite activity in the world and it makes my heart and soul happy!” It’s this child-like enthusiasm for riding that Sacred Cycle is so determined to share with survivors and we’re honored to have Lauren on our team.

Mary Lyn Bondlow-Bushong

Mary Lyn Bondlow-Bushong has had a life-long passion for cycling and feels honored to share her enthusiasm and expertise with the Sacred Cycle community. She has coached a championship NORCAL team in Northern CA, taught groups of women to cycle as a Luna Ambassador for Cliff Bar, and has done extensive fundraising for the Breast Cancer Foundation. She is certified in Wilderness First Aid and CPR and is an IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) guide and instructor. Mary Lyn and her husband live in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Brandy R. Maze, ESQ

Brandy Maze has been practicing law in Colorado for over 15 years. Before going to law school she knew she wanted to study children’s law, “I wanted to be a voice for those whose voices are often not heard.” Since 2010 her practice has focused almost exclusively on child advocacy in Dependency and Neglect matters. Her work centers on the most private and difficult experiences that children and families face.

Through her work with children and families she has seen firsthand how past traumatic events, when left unaddressed, negatively impact an individuals’ ability to care for themselves, care for and meet the needs of their children, and function productively in society. Like us, Brandy believe the biggest public health crisis in the United States is childhood trauma, “The silence that surrounds the epidemic of sexual assault on children allows this crisis to grow. That is why I am extremely honored to be a part of Sacred Cycle – whose mission is to empower and support survivors, raise awareness, and provide healing.” And we’re honored to have her.

Willow Rubin

Willow began her career in mental health working with at risk youth in 1996 in Boulder, Colorado while studying to get her master’s degree in psychotherapy. After graduating, Willow worked for the Boulder County Mental Health Center providing home based family and individual therapy. She worked for seven years providing direct services, eventually becoming a team leader and clinical supervisor. A native of Los Angeles, Willow then began providing individual and family therapy for clients who struggle with both substance abuse and mental health issues in her home town. After joining Vive in Los Angeles, Willow provided mentor and parent coach services before becoming the team leader. Eventually, Willow’s connection and dedication to the Vive model became evident and was named Clinical Director and then became the Executive Director of Clinical Services. Willow promotes a holistic and integrated approach to therapy and holds the vision that families can change patterns and heal from past wounds. She remains forever passionate about finding creative and effective ways of providing and supporting the therapeutic services for youth, young adults, and their families.

Sara Shainholtz

Sara Shainholtz is an outdoor enthusiast, a physician assistant in the emergency room, and breast cancer survivor. Through her work in the emergency room she has evaluated and helped provide resources for women who have experienced sexual trauma; she has seen the depth of impact sexual trauma has on patients. She strongly supports the resources and life changing opportunity Sacred Cycle can bring to women’s lives.

As a breast cancer survivor she has both volunteered and participated in programs and retreats that focus on a path towards healing through mindfulness and adventure. Bonding with others who shared a similar experience was a fundamental part of her healing process, providing confidence and a spiritual connection. Sara is moved, uplifted and beyond honored to be a part of an organization that gives women an opportunity to tell their story and find strength through adventure to focus on a path toward healing.

Heather Russell

Heather Russell, LPC, founded Sacred Cycle out of a community need and attempt to join passions; cycling and helping others. A therapist trained in transpersonal counseling, sexual assault crisis, and mindfulness awareness, Heather works with adults struggling with severe and persistent mental illness. A survivor herself, Heather found healing through mountain biking, the outdoors and helping others. She longs to share her passion for riding and vision for healing with others on their journey. Heather lives in Carbondale, Colorado and spends her free time pedaling in the mountains.

Jim Francis

Jim Francis is a former business executive in coal land management. In recent years, as a volunteer, he has worked for a number of non-profits, and has experience as a treasurer who has been responsible for filing tax returns. A lover of the outdoors, he owns a bicycle, but only competes with himself. He is delighted to run the back office of Sacred Cycle and leave the real work to a group of strong women.